Improved means for working sails



`iib tack eyebolt.

Y UNITED STATES ATieNT VYllll/ltdviv A. ROSS, OF PORT RICHMOND, NEW' YORK,

IMPROVED MEANS FOR WORKING SAILTS.

Specification forming part ol"I.etters Patent No. 6,8336., dated October 30, 1845?.

anypther fore-andati; sail.when the foot of y the sail is stretched fiat or straight by aboom, such improvement consisting in the addition oi' a rope so iitted that it prevents the sail from sticking or stretching so as to tear at the diagonal lineor point of shortest distance between the after en'd of the boom and the boltvrope of the sail, therebyY facilitating the furling or stowing ot' the sail when lowered, and

aiding in setting the sail whenhoisted, forA 'which improvements I seek Letters Patent of United States; and that the said improvement, with the construction, use, and effect thereof, are fully and substantially set forth inthe following description, and shown in the drawings annexed to and making part of this specilication, whereinlr`ignre l is a side elevation of a sail fitted with this iinp rm'ement, the boom being drawn in section, so as to show the inode of iitting the suine. l

lhe smaller ligures are separately referred to, but the saine letters and other marks o'f reference :ipnlgv to the like parts in all the iignres. A,

AY is a poi-tion ot the ibrward part of a sloop .n schooner; B. the' mast on which the sail is hoisted. C is the bowsprit over which it is set. D is the boom beneath the sail, with the tornard end attached to the outer end of the howsprit b): an eyebolt. f lli is the foresail or n, is the iin-estoy, with the collar at the mast-head and lan'rards beneath the bowsprit. l; is the block passing the halyards c. 1 is the t is the ordinary downhaul leading ihrtfiugh 'an eye, 2, or a block on the eye. e is the topping lift or' rope, to take the weight of thdiiooin from the sail, passing through the block 3 to the eye l in the boom l). j' is the jih sheet block, aiulbarentlie hunks 'to/hold VAthesail to the stayfaud g are riigshoopsl-hanks, or grommets, whichever may be employed, to keep the i'oot-rope of the sail downto the boom, all these parts being l represented as fitted for workin the manner now in use. p

.A sheave, 6, is placed in or on the forward,

Fig. 2; and a similar sheave, 7, is placed in or on the after end of the boom, or a pair of small blocks may be placed on theboom, in either case so fitted as conveniently to reeve the bolt-rope at 9 on the forward edgeof the sail, so as to be as much above the end ot' the boom as is requiredcby the difference between the length of the lower edge of the sail and the shortest distance across from the bolt-rope to the clew-,eringle 10, this difference varying with the angles=of the sail, the rope 8 passing under through a groove in the boom, as shown in cross-seeti on in Fi 3,and has .the after end reeved upward through thesheave 7 and hauled taut and fastened to the elew-cringle 10 in the after clew or sheet-angle of the sail E. The effects this rope 8 produce are, irst; that on lowering the sail as the downvhaul L is hauled on, so soon as the sail is lowered enough to slacken the rope 8 at the point 9, the rope 8 renders through the sheaves 6. and 7, and at once permits the clewcringle l() and l sheet-angle of the sail to pass forward on the tirely without the sail binding on the forestay, which would be the case were the eringle l0 a tixtureto t-he boom, because the short- 10 and bolt-rope will .not allow it to come entirely down, while the cringle l() remains a fixture. The rope 8, descending with the sail,

a sliderealisatiethesail Cae then-bams venientlfV i'urled ,oristowednn On hoisting the so soon as the point 9 beginsto lift on the stay la the rope 8 begins to draw the cringle 10 att upon the'booin D, so that by then the head ot' the sail is l1oisted up,the cringle 10 issheeted home, and the sail fairly stretched on the boom by the act of hoisting it. l v

Although I have described the rope 8' as being continuous, it may be connected to a rnetallic rod running in the groove in the under stead.

end of the boom D, as seen in larger size in rope 8, the forward end of which is spliced to boom, sothat the sail can be hauled down en-V ness ot'rthe perpendicular between the cringle slackens upon the cringle .l0 and allows that to come forward, so that th'e rings on the stay sail the reverse operation takes pla' '3e,becauseY Y side of the boom, or a chain may be used inl p for bolts,

the fall and The advantages of the construction herein shown are, that the rope or chain running in a groove in the boom is out of the way of ropes' and, as the rope is never loose, it cannot get caught in any portion otl the rigging or the vessel asr the sail swings across in tacking.

It will be evident that the yrope 8 need not run in a groove, but may be connected in any other convenient manner that will produce the same efl'ects-namely, the slackening up of the after angle of the sail-bpT the operation of lowering, so that the sail descends freely, and also the entire setting of the sail, by merely hoisting the same, as before described.

In sails of this shape attached to a boom in order to furl them, the boom has itself .heretofore been made movable at its outer end, as without this the sail could not'be furled when lowered, and will not set fair when hoisted, as the part ot' the sail before the boom will not be in the same line as the part immediately above the boom. I

It will also be understood that the after end of the rope 8 may be made as a pendant, taking the cringle l() at the after end, and asingle block at the fore end, with afall going to a double block on the fore end of the pendant beneath the boom, and the fall itself ending above the point 9 in the bolt-rope, and that pendant soitted 'will give a double purchase to sheet houle a large sail when setting it in a strong wind, the length of the pendant and fall being properly proportioned to work fair at each end of the boom. This mode is not represented in the drawingsbeeause it is so mere a matter of nautical practice that it is easily understood.

I am aware that a down-hauler acted on by a force other than that applied to the halis new; but

yards has been used to the sail when lowering, and a like separate force has been applied to sheet the sail home when hoisting; but by my particular attachment the sticking or tearing while lowering the sail is prevented, and, the same effect is obtained in hoisting, and the sail is also sheeted home, and all the effects are produced by this o ne attachment through the action of the halyards independent of any separate action or force, so that on sails hoisting at the upper angle of a triangle on a stay the rope Inse might go through the hanks to the halyard-block at the upper angle if this extra length of rope did not interfere with stowing the sail. avoided by attaching the rope in the manner described.

I do not claim to have invented any of the parts herein described as separately from the manner in which it is employed. No one part I do claim as new and ofmy own'invention, and desire to secure hy Letters Patent ot' the United States- The attaclnnent ot' a rope, 8, to the bolt-I rope of a sail to act as a down-haullin towering and to sheet the sail home when hoisting,

such rope passing by sheaves or blocks,`or in any convenient manner, from one end of the boom to the other, so that .it y'operates to release the eringle and relieve the sail when lowering', and replace vthe cringle and. sheet home the sail when hoisting, substantially as described and shown.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my signature this 27 th day 0f August, 1849.

"WILLIAM A. ROSS.

fit nesses:

W. SERRELL, EDWD. W. Snnnmii..

This isl 

